Are the Houston Astros the best team in major league baseball?

The Houston Astros are quietly, stealthily, grinding their way toward the postseason, and they have the numbers and the nous to win MLB’s top prize

Jeffrey MayJeff_DiarioASUpdate: Jul 23rd, 2022 15:38 EDT

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I am a Texas Rangers fan. After a childhood spent watching my dad’s favorite team, the Atlanta Braves, when I was 16 years old, the Texas Rangers did something that won my eternal affection. They signed Nolan Ryan. I was hooked. The fact that they got him from Houston was a kind of in-state Texas bonus.

Along with all the other Ranger blue fans, who still pine over the loss of A-Rod, Pudge, Sosa, Teixeira, and most recently IKF and Gallo, I hold out hope that Texas will one day rebuild and get back into World Series contention. So believe me when I say to you that this next statement gives me no joy of any kind.

The Houston Astros are the best baseball team in Major League Baseball.

Are you not entertained? pic.twitter.com/Rqy2Np7xgF

— Houston Astros (@astros) July 23, 2022

There, I said it. It makes me a little sick, not because of the lame “oh, they cheated five years ago” nonsense that Yankee fans still trot out, like some stale fruitcake, when the Astros are mentioned, but because no matter how you look at the situation, it is an incontrovertibly true statement of fact.

The incredible thing about Houston is that they are doing what they do with almost no press noise at all. And let’s be clear about what exactly it is that they do. They systematically dismantle the best baseball teams in the country.

The @Yankees and @Astros have both proven their dominance time and time again… but, which team currently has the edge?@kevinburkhardt | @AROD | @davidortiz | @TheBigHurt_35 pic.twitter.com/FP9Y6Yxz0T

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 18, 2022

The Yankees have the best record in MLB, but they have lost five of their seven games against the Astros this season. In fact, Houston won 43 of the 45 innings that the two teams have played in 2022, and the two games that they lost? They lost them on the last at-bat.

The limited press coverage that the Astros receive tends to revolve around the insane batting of Yordan Álvarez. He is the top offensive weapon in baseball, leading MLB in both OPS and slugging. But here is the thing that nobody is talking about. And it is the same thing that nobody talked about last season, too. Houston are outstanding, based in no small measure on their pitching.

José Urquidy continued his recent success against the team that's had his number this season. Although the Mariners flirted with a comeback, the Astros closed the door and snapped Seattle's 14-game win streak.[@thevandalorian]https://t.co/rTjQEYtqrv

— Inside the Astros (@InsideAstrosSI) July 23, 2022

For a team who are known for being able to produce runs almost at will, the Astros are pretty average in the runs scored department, putting up 418 runs so far this season, the same number as the Texas Rangers. Where the Astros stand apart from the crowd is on the mound.

Cristian Javier spearheaded a no-hitter against the Yankees back in June, just the eighth time ever that the pinstripes have been no-hit and the first time in nearly two decades. Incidentally, the last team to do it? Houston, back in 2003.

The Astros pitchers combine to NO-HIT the Yankees! Cristian Javier: 7 IP, 0 H, 13 K, 1 BB #LevelUp pic.twitter.com/scY3LOYKZ4

— Diamond Talk Podcast (@DiamondTalkPod) June 25, 2022

Justin Verlander, at 39 years old, is having a career-high season. He returned from Tommy John surgery to a one-year, $25 million deal that was loaded down with question marks, and it is no exaggeration to say that he has lit up the baseball world.

Lit. It. Up.

The guy is throwing fireballs, with a 1.89 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP, he is almost unhittable.

Justin Verlander of the @astros is the first pitcher in MLB history to enter the All-Star break with:- 12+ wins- .800+ win pct- ERA under 2.00- opp BA under .200- WHIP under 0.90- 5.00+ K/BB ratio

— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) July 16, 2022

Rafael Montero has a 1.85 ERA and Framber Valdez is turning into a ground-ball specialist, as a starter with a 2.66 ERA over 115 innings pitched. But the blazer on the team, the real jaw-dropper, is Ryne Stanek. He has an ERA of 0.55. Yes, that is a zero. He is just bowling the batters out, strike after strike.

Without all of the razzmatazz that the Dodgers rotation brings, or the sleight-of-hand focus on the Mets acquisition of Hall-of-Fame shoe-in Scherzer, Houston is quietly working their way toward October.